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Multiple fire departments coordinate to contain brush fire

Newsmaker of the Week: Long Island’s volunteer firefighters

By: John Callegari April 13, 2012Comments Off on Newsmaker of the Week: Long Island’s volunteer firefighters

The mild winter may have been more than welcome for Long Islanders tired of being blanketed by snow year after year; it also created the potential for a dangerous firestorm.

On Monday, that potential ignited into a firestorm that torched more than 1,000 acres of the Pine Barrens in Ridge and Manorville. Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a State of Emergency in Suffolk County as a result of the blaze.

Although the fire burned for more than a day and a half, it destroyed only a small handful of buildings. In addition, no one was killed, and injuries were minor.

None of that would have been possible without the coordinated effort of Long Island’s volunteer firefighters. More than 100 fire departments responded to the blaze, providing aid to neighbors they had likely never even met. It was because of them the fire was contained as quickly as it was.

The firefighters learned a lot about coordinating attacks from the wild fires of 1995 that consumed 7,000 acres of Pine Barrens land from Rocky Point to Eastport. Monday’s fire could have been just as bad.

In recognition of the firefighters’ valor, Suffolk County and Town of Brookhaven officials announced that they, in coordination with Ronkonkoma-based JVC Broadcasting, would be holding a special Thank You concert at the Brookhaven Amphitheater on May 19.

A nice gesture to be sure, but somehow it just doesn’t seem to be enough of a thank you for our friends and family who gave so selflessly of themselves.

With the weather remaining unseasonably warm, and no rain in sight, we just hope we won’t have to call on our volunteers again to battle another wildfire. But it’s reassuring to know that if we do, they’ll answer the call once again without a moment’s hesitation.